Openreach CEO departs

November 16, 2015

BT Openreach CEO Joe Garner, is stepping down to become chief executive of building society Nationwide. Garner, who became CEO in February 2014, will leave next spring handing over to his successor, who BT said “will be named in due course.”

The news comes as rival comms compaies including Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone all urge regulator Ofcom to reform the UK broadband market, as part of its major review the UK communications market. Sky and others have called for Openreach to be spun off from BT and called for this in its final submission to Ofcom last month, as part of the strategic review.

Garner commented: “In my view, it is BT’s investment that has helped the UK to become one of the strongest digital economies in the world and I am proud to have contributed. Openreach is now poised to take the UK from a superfast to an ultrafast nation and I am confident it can achieve this as part of the BT family. I wish my successor at Openreach and everyone there and at BT all the best for the future.”